When One Door Closes
by Bex-La-Get
Summary: Hermione receives devastating news and dreads telling Draco. But as they push through it together, they realize that when one door closes, another one really does open. Dramione. One-shot. All rights belong to J.K. Rowling.


_**A/N: Just another one shot that came to me. Read and review please!**_

 ** _Tallyho!_**

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Malfoy," the Healer said. "It seems that there's nothing else we can do. Your body won't react to any of the potions we've given you. It appears that… you are infertile. I'm sorry."

Hermione felt her heart drop into her stomach. She and Draco had been trying to have a child for over a year all to no avail. She had gone to both muggle doctors and wizard healers; neither had been able to help her and now she had her confirmation why. She couldn't have children. At all. She was devastated. _What am I going to do?_ she thought to herself.

She swallowed. "Thank you, Healer Gregson. I appreciate all the work you've done," she said, her voice far more steady than she felt.

Her Healer gave her a sympathetic look before letting her go. She left the hospital but didn't go home. She couldn't face Draco just yet. Instead, she went to her parent's house. The moment Ashley Granger saw her daughter, she knew something was wrong. Pulling Hermione into a spare bedroom, she confessed what she had just been told and cried while her mother held her and spoke words of comfort to her.

"Mum, what am I going to do?" Hermione whimpered through her tears. "Draco's wanted kids forever. We both have. And now I can't have them. What am I going to do?"

"You need to tell him the truth, honey," Ashley said. "He'll understand."

"Will he?" Hermione looked to her mother with broken and distraught eyes.

Ashley squeezed her daughter's shoulders. "Of course, he will! He loves you! You'll figure something out. You always do. I promise, everything will be okay but you _need_ to tell him, honey. Sooner rather than later."

Hermione nodded. Taking a deep breath and wiping her tears away, she looked to her mother. "Okay. I- I'll go home and tell him."

Ashley smiled and kissed her temple. "You'll be fine, I promise. If you need me later, I'm always a phone call away."

Hermione gave her mother a sad smile and one last reassuring hug before apparating home. Her breathing was shaky as she entered the Manor. Lucius and Narcissa had given it to Draco a year after he and Hermione had gotten married while they moved into a cottage just off the French Riviera. She gave the house elf, Perry, a weak smile as she walked to the library, where she knew she would find Draco.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked lightly on the library door. "Come in," said a distracted voice.

She quietly pushed the door open to find her husband at his desk with papers scattered all around him. His hair was slightly ruffled from running his hand through it so much and he was chewing on his lip in concentration. Hermione closed the door causing Draco to look up. He smiled when he saw her.

"Hey," he said, his work momentarily gone from his mind. "How did your appointment go?"

She swallowed and opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Draco's eyes began to fill with concern. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

She bit her lip, trying to stop her chin from quivering. Finally, she couldn't keep it in anymore and dropped to the floor, her tears flowing freely. Draco was at her side immediately, pulling her into his lap and rocking her back and forth as she cried. "What happened?" he asked, his voice filled with concern for his wife.

"Draco," she sobbed, "I- I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"I can't give you children. I can't have them."

"What?" he asked.

"The muggle doctors and the healers tried everything. Nothing worked. My body didn't react to any of the methods they tried. I- I can't have children. I'm so sorry."

Draco was momentarily stunned but it passed as his grip on her tightened. He kissed her temple. "Oh honey," he said, "I'm so sorry."

She looked up at him. "Why are you sorry?"

He brushed a curl behind her ear. "Because I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now."

She sniffed. "M- me? But I thought you would be heartbroken."

"I am sad, yes, but you were the one who would've gone through the pregnancy and had to give birth. You would have experienced everything: the first movement, the kick, the knowledge that there was a person growing inside you. I would've just been the bystander. Am I sad at the news, yes. But we'll figure something out. As long as I have you, I know everything will be okay."

She gave him a sad smile. He kissed her forehead and hugged her close. "I love you, you know," he said.

"I know," she replied.

* * *

 **Six Months Later**

"Draco."

"Hmm?" He replied, not looking up from his paperwork.

"How do you feel about adoption?"

He stopped and looked up to his wife who was sitting at the other side of the desk, sifting through some files. He put his quill down and studied her. "Why do you ask?"

She sighed and looked at him. "Because I still want kids and I know you do too. And I was thinking just because I can't have them doesn't mean that we should rule out the idea of kids all together. I was thinking maybe we could adopt?" She bit her lip as she propositioned her husband. He studied her with an unreadable expression for a moment. Finally, he stood up and walked to her side of the desk, crouching down and resting his hands on her knees.

"Are you sure about this, love?" he asked.

She nodded. "I- I want to be a mum. I want to be able to raise a child and share things with them about the muggle world and about our world and tell them stories of our days at school and how we survived the war and how we found each other. I want to be able to raise a child and have it be proud of us and have us be proud of it."

A small smile grew on his lips at her explanation. "Okay."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes full of hope.

"Yes, I want all that too." he replied. "Let's adopt."

She smiled and laughed in relief as he smiled at her and kissed her before picking her up and spinning her around with joy.

* * *

The adoption process had been long, stressful, and frustrating but they pushed through. They had passed with flying colors, much to Draco's relief, and the adoption went smoothly afterwards. While going through the process, they had found a little girl that had been orphaned after her parents had died in a freak splinching accident. Hermione took one look at her and was smitten and after some long nights of talking about it, Draco had agreed that she was perfect. They would name her Allegra. She had a full head of curly blonde hair and bright green eyes. Within minutes of meeting her, Draco and Hermione were wrapped around her little fingers.

The day baby Allegra came home was one of the happiest days of Hermione's life, next to her wedding day. Narcissa and Lucius had been waiting at Malfoy Manor (she would meet Hermione's parents a different day) when they brought her home. Both Malfoys had fallen in love with the little girl at first sight and Narcissa joked that she'd come back everyday to visit the little one, leaving Hermione a bit nervous about that idea as she and the baby still needed to get acquainted themselves. Draco reassured her later that night though that Narcissa knew her boundaries and that there was nothing to worry about.

One evening, Hermione was sitting in the garden with Allegra in her arms. She was humming a quiet song as the baby fell asleep. A pair of lips kissed the base of her neck, causing her to smile as she continued to hum. Draco sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around the two of them.

"She's beautiful," he said, quietly.

She nodded in agreement and looked at him. "I know this is probably bad to say, but I'm kind of glad that we couldn't have any kids of our own. If we did, we'd have never met Allie. Despite the heartbreak we felt, I wouldn't have it any other way because I'm so happy. I have you and I have this beautiful little girl and we have this incredible life together and I couldn't ask for anything more."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I feel the same way."

They sat in the garden under the stars, with Hermione humming quietly, Draco running his fingers through her hair, and their beautiful baby girl asleep in her new mother's arms. It may not have been what they had imagined, but it was still perfect.


End file.
